Between the Cracks
by Dreamicide
Summary: Small moments and scenes during the series that took place away from our eyes, all pertaining to two certain characters. — FakirAhiru
1. Akt 6

**notes:** these will be small one-shots that all take place during the series, between scenes and moments that aren't showed to us. this first one takes place in akt 6, between the point when fakir volunteers to be ahiru's parner in the pas de deux and the moment their hands first touch. hope you enjoy!  
><strong>i own nothing.<strong>

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><p><strong>Akt 6<strong>

…Everyone was looking at her funny.

Standing up on the vast stage alone, Ahiru wrapped her arms around her awkward figure and dropped her gaze to her feet, feeling quite unsuited for the pretty costume loaned to her. It was pretty and golden and had intricate pattering she could see up close, and all around didn't look like someone like her should be wearing it. Not to mention it was a little itchy right on the small of her back.

It was all so sudden—sure, the nice lady wanted to see her dance yesterday, but Ahiru wasn't expecting her to ask _again_ after that! She was the worst in class—everyone knew that. And now she was standing up in the in front of people who saw her messing up every day, completely alone and wishing she could just crawl back into her school uniform and hide in her bed until the next morning.

But she couldn't. Ahiru had no idea why Mrs. Paulamoni wanted to see _her_ dancing so much, but she asked nicely and Mr. Cat was giving her really scary looks from below the stage so it wasn't as if she could just run away….

And just to make everything worse, she was waiting there completely discomfited because a certain someone had volunteered to be her partner for the pas de deux.

Ahiru shifted uncomfortably, her frown growing more prominent as she thought of him taking his sweet time changing into the costume while leaving her there to be ogled and laughed at by the rest of their class. It was obvious they were expecting some sort of show from her—and the fact that her best friends were making the majority of those comments wasn't exactly helping, either.

…Ahiru really was not looking forward to this. Dancing a pas de deux with the horrible person she was fighting against. S-sure, she probably wouldn't have been able to dance very well with _Mytho_ like Rue first suggested, but this was way worse than that! Fakir walked around acting as if Mytho didn't need a heart, and he even locked him up in the library. He may have been popular with her friends and everyone else, but Ahiru could see the truth. He was nothing but a mean upperclassman who didn't treat Mytho right, and now she was waiting on stage to _dance_ with him. It was the worst.

…Just how long was he even going to have her stand there, anyway?

Her knees were already shaking. Really, this was probably the first time Ahiru was ever about to perform in front of a lot of people while being the main focus. It wasn't a problem when her other classmates were practicing with her, but this was different all around and she was already feeling embarrassed.

But then she heard a 'hmph' out from the corner of the stage, and Ahiru turned her gaze over just as Fakir quickly made his way across, stepping closer to her while looking much more suited in his costume than Ahiru did hers. His expression was clearly displeased—but her own face probably reflected the same distaste right back at him.

He probably just wanted to get all up in her face again for trying to talk to Mytho a lot and even knowing about his lack of a heart. Well, she wouldn't let him intimidate her! He was the one who volunteered to dance with her in the first place, so he better be prepared to get his feet stepped on!

"Come on," he said, interrupting her thoughts with a sigh. He drew to her side, immediately positioning his feet and straightening himself up, as if he really did plan to just perform a quick pas de deux with her and then just leave. He gave her a flat look out of the corner of his eye, before furrowing his brows. "…You've been standing here this long, and you're not even ready yet? Hmph. Hurry up and stop wasting my time." He then turned back to face the audience before Ahiru could form a response, clearly disinterested in the awed gazes and appreciative looks his peers gave him unconditionally, ignoring the awkward and duck-like girl performing as his partner. _Partner_. They even had matching outfits, and it was enough to just…!

Ahiru could have been steaming out of her ears. Balling her fists at her sides, she spun around to fully face the audience (overthrowing her weight and stumbling slightly with a squawk) before straightening her back and lifting as much of her weight as she could on her toes. Mrs. Paulamoni and Mr. Cat were talking—probably to _them_, giving them their thanks and to feel free to start whenever they were ready—but Ahiru just couldn't even decipher the words anymore. She was too busy clenching her teeth and seething. Fakir was a horrible and terrible person. She would never partner with him, even if she had to suffer through dancing by his side like this just once.

'Stop wasting his time.' As if she was any more eager to dance with him than he was!

Well, Ahiru was just going to have to show him. She didn't care about anything he had to say to her, because he said Mytho didn't need a heart, and Ahiru just _knew_ that was wrong. Fakir thought he could scare her with mean looks and a loud voice, and she wouldn't let him.

Once Ahiru was properly positioned—or as best positioned as someone clumsy like her could be—she saw a hand reaching for her out of the corner of her eye. She didn't even try to mask her displeasure before hesitantly lifting up her own and placing the dainty palm within his.

**End**


	2. Akt 8

**notes:** takes place during akt 8, between the moments fakir hides ahiru as a duck in his shirt and the second he puts her outside.  
><strong>i own nothing.<strong>

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><p><strong>Akt 8<strong>

Living with a heartless prince that made it a mission to help small feeble animals, Fakir was no stranger to seeing one wandering around where it wasn't supposed to.

Though he couldn't say he had ever had a duck hide in his locker, before. But birds, he found, tended to be more scatterbrained than most others. Mytho would get his fair share of pecks and scratches whenever he tried to handle one.

Which was also rather surprising about the little duck stuffed underneath his shirt. When Fakir carefully reached out and picked it up, he was fully expecting the little thing to struggle. They typically did. But not this one—instead it remained almost perfectly still, not making a single peep as he began making his way down the halls of the practice building.

Fakir normally didn't particularly care for small animals. Perhaps after living and keeping an eye on Mytho all these years had an effect on him, to just automatically reach out and help something that was weak before the heartless prince caught sight of it and did something stupidly reckless. It had turned into something almost second nature.

Or maybe that wasn't really the whole story, but Fakir was not about to waste his time dwelling on it. He was just putting a duck outside where it belonged before someone else found it.

As soon as he had the little bird tucked under his practice clothing, the student knew exactly what he needed to do. The ballet building was relatively crowded in the hallways between classes, so he should have been heading to the exit to get the duck back outside, where it would do god knows what for the rest of its life.

Instead, Fakir found that his feet were carrying him the _opposite_ direction, to the lounge area. That was most definitely filled with students who would notice a squirming lump underneath his clothes—if it had been squirming at all, that is. Nevertheless, making an appearance out of his uniform and clearly keeping something under his shirt was definitely not a sight he should have brought to a room he knew would be public.

…Because it's brunch-time, Fakir reasoned in his head. The front of the room was always filled with tables of drinks and finger-foods at this hour, and if the duck was looking for food in the men's locker room, then it was probably hungry. Fakir refused to dwell on the fact that going out of his way to gather bread for a duck was otherwise a complete waste of time.

When he met the wooden door to the lounge area, he actually had to stop in his tracks and glance down to the concealed animal under his shirt. It was surprisingly _calm_, for something that had been abruptly taken and all but stuffed in a dark space. But when he gently pulled out the blue cloth to check on it, he was only greeted with a wide and completely horrified stare.

And in that moment, his eyes softened slightly.

Though the frown still refused to withdraw from his face. The thing looked terrified, even if it was a moron for going around inside the school for some food. Fakir didn't think anything strange when it suddenly began to blink _owlishly_ back at him in response to his expression relaxing.

"Stupid," he mumbled underneath his breath as he pulled back the blue shirt to once again cover up the animal—and it was only then when he finally felt it move, feeling a webbed foot actually give something akin to a _kick_ against his abdomen. Perhaps overwhelmed from the sudden rush of events, he concluded silently while pulling the door handle open.

With that, the student managed to look nonchalant as he entered the lounge room, ignoring any stares or murmurs as to why he had yet to change back into his school uniform. He was quick to stop by the small buffet table and pick out a small loaf of bread. Fakir didn't bother glancing around to see if anyone else was paying attention to him, or even if Mytho had already arrived. Instead, he took a considerate bite out of the loaf for himself before spinning on his heel to leave.

The duck stopped moving again, he noticed while carrying himself down the vast hallways. Perhaps it was much less insightful than the others, unaware that a situation like this should have been perceived as dangerous and life-threatening rather than curious. It was absurd, but Fakir found himself almost envious of it.

Once he pushed open one of the side entrances to the building, he idly made his way over across the small field of grass, stopping just before a small gathering of trees. Fakir paused to pick apart a few small chunks of bread, and then reached into the opening of his practice shirt to draw out the small yellow duck. It was certainly a small little thing, fitting almost perfectly in the size of his palm.

With that, he crouched down to the ground to place it in the grass.


	3. Akt 10

**notes:** short one, takes place between the moments fakir picks her up by the lake and then gives back the pendant.  
><strong>i own nothing.<strong>

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><p><strong>Akt 10<strong>

Ahiru wasn't used to receiving tender embraces.

Pique and Lilie would hug her a lot—but those felt more wild and would accompany speeches on revenge or some sort of comfort. And even before, with her life as a duck…well, she couldn't really remember. But she was sure ducks didn't _hug_ each other.

Not only that, but receiving her first real one from Fakir was quite honestly the last thing she ever expected.

Ahiru was still confused about everything—what did he mean about what entailed with Mytho gaining his heart back? Was he really the knight from the story? For whose sake were all his actions for?

For the first time, she felt like she really didn't know anything about what she was doing. And it should have been scaring her.

Well, actually, she _was_ kinda scared. Seeing Fakir crying only intensified that. The same person who could be so horrible to Mytho and glare at her with cold eyes could actually look like this, because of everything that had been happening lately. It was a rather startling reality check, and she didn't know if she was doing the right thing anymore.

…She wasn't sure how long he held her like that. Probably for only a few seconds, but it felt al little longer than that. So when he finally shifted slightly, a wavered breath hitting against her feathers, the duck glanced up to see him looking right back down at her.

It was sort of the same look he gave her when feeding her bread earlier. Only this time, there were tears on his face….

Was this really the same person who only said mean things and hurt others? Ahiru didn't even know what to think, now. She wasn't even concerned about the pendent in his possession—at least, until he bent over to set her down on the damp grass, mimicking his actions form before.

When he stood back up, Ahiru blinked, right before her focus was changed to his hand digging around his pocket. It was only then when she remembered the reason she had been following so closely behind him the entire day.


	4. Akt 11

**notes: **takes place between the moments fakir meets ahiru out in the hallway and then when he takes her to the empty practice room.  
><strong>i own nothing.<strong>

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><p><strong>Akt 11<strong>

Admitting that he was surprised would have been an understatement. Fakir was never usually one to be caught off guard like this, and the revelation that the duck-like redhead that he'd seen trotting around after Mytho was actually Princess Tutu was enough to make his head spin upon the moment he put two and two together.

But now that he'd had time to reflect on it, he really shouldn't have been so shocked. Aside from himself and Rue, that girl—that Ahiru—had been the only person to ever express the knowledge that Mytho lacked a heart. There was also Kraehe to think about now, as well, but her aims were obviously different from the girl walking behind him. Tutu intended to restore the prince's heart—a goal that she shared as a gawky girl.

Hearing the echoing of their shoes against the empty hallway grounds, Fakir turned to cast a short-lived glance over his shoulder, a scowl still predominant on his face. The knight's eyes were scrutinizing as he watched her quickly dropping her gaze to her feet, and his attention was momentarily caught by the cowlick bobbing at the top of her head with the movement.

…Yes, he really shouldn't have been so surprised that she was Princess Tutu.

But the shock was over, and he needed to clarify it with the girl, as well as figure out her every intention. Turning back around, he continued leading her through the building, his mind swirling with thoughts.

Fakir was now powerless to stop the story from moving, but that didn't mean he was going to stop doing everything in his power to protect Mytho—

"GYAH—!"

The loud squawk was suddenly followed by a thud from behind, and Fakir quickly whipped around to see the girl sprawled out over the ground, arms extended out and face flat against the floor. His glower deepened as she began to pick herself back up, not bothering to offer any assistance.

But for a quick moment, the teen was swiftly drawn to a small light reflecting off her neck, and he noted the same red pendant still hanging over her collar. That same piece of jewelry he found and practically threw away, yet she had managed to get it back into her possession not even a few hours later. It flashed almost mockingly at him, the damned thing.

It was no surprise that she was the girl he danced a pas de deux with back at the theater. But to say that she really was the same graceful being from the story….

"Ow…."

"Just hurry up."

Fakir didn't bother checking to see her reaction, though he did hear an annoyed sound from her throat. But then the atmosphere immediately grew silent again as he resumed the path to the empty classroom.

He could feel that she was apprehensive. The way she looked at him that morning was proof enough, as he glared back down at her and ignored the way her friends suddenly started making incoherent babble while he merely stood there, almost analyzing her worried expression. Fakir didn't know exactly what she was thinking, nor did he really care. But she had been caught—he knew she was Tutu, and all the better if he managed to intimidate her enough to back off from affecting the story any more.

And for the rest of the way, Fakir didn't look back at her, but he could still hear the clack of her school shoes and the ruffle of her dress as her fingernails clenched tightly at the front of the fabric.

"In here."

Fakir spoke no more than needed, taking the door handle in his hand and pulling open to allow her inside. The girl looked apprehensive, her eyes flickering between his and the window of the room, before she ultimately allowed her feet to move and carry her forward. She didn't look him in the eye as she passed, her own averting away nervously.

And once they were both finally inside, Fakir shut the door on a harsh sound, the hallways giving a halfhearted echo.


	5. Akt 12 part 1

**notes: **takes place between the moments after kraehe rips mytho's heart shard out and when fakir wakes up to his wounds being bandaged.  
><strong>i own nothing.<strong>

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><p><strong>Akt 12 - 1<strong>

…She couldn't believe what had just happened.

Legs quivering, Tutu couldn't even keep herself steady on her feet, and soon enough found that she was crouched on her hands and knees. Her blue eyes were still wide in shock at the sight that only disappeared a few seconds before.

She had tried giving her prince another shard of his heart…the shard of _love_…and Kraehe came and just—!

Betraying her usual grace and elegance, Tutu slapped a palm over her mouth to bite back a sob, her cheeks already wet with tears.

To have a piece of his heart ripped right out from his body, in such a cruel way…and he sounded like he was in such _pain_ from the way he screamed out like that…! It sounded so awful!

Why would anyone do such a cruel thing? Tutu couldn't admit that she understood Kraehe's intentions, not for one moment since they first laid eyes on each other, but this encounter only made her feel completely lost in the dark. Wandering aimlessly, without any support to grab a hold of….

The princess allowed the tears to fall, her whimpers and sniffles muffled by the hand concealing half of her face. If anything, she should be grateful that the binds had released her after the others disappeared, but it was still very jarring that she couldn't do anything to help Mytho. There she was, free, and yet she had no idea where she could find them. What could she even do?

It was only after a few minutes that she heard someone else's voice. A weakened groan, barely audible but still enough to catch her ears.

Turning her head, it was only then when she finally remembered that Fakir was still there.

"Fakir!" Immediately springing back to her feet, she didn't bother approaching him on daintily pointed toes—instead rushing to him as quickly as she could, jumping down from the brick flooring and drawing to his side. Her expression was wide with concern, and her hands shook with uncertainty as they tentatively reached out to him.

"Fakir, are you…?" She couldn't even bring herself to finish that question, for once she got a closer look, it was quite clear that the knight was _not_ okay. His clothes had ripped in several places, all in the shape of a crow's beak, and she could see the redness welling up against the fabric. She heard him only give another groan in response, but it didn't sound as though he was even aware she was right there.

Tutu swallowed in nervousness. She had never seen someone look so beaten up before, and with only the two of them out there, she wasn't sure on what to do. There was that one time Lilie broke a toenail during practice—and while the sight of her split nail with an ample amount of blood dripping through the crack was gruesome, it didn't quite match up to this. Although, the memory did give Tutu the proper idea—the nurse at the infirmary wrapped up the blond girl's toe in some bandages, and it managed to heal quickly. That was it. If Tutu could take Fakir to a better place to rest and bandaged him up, that would be loads better than just sitting over his body and fretting. If not Mytho, she could at least help Fakir when he was injured like this!

With that determined thought in mind, the princess gave a gentle shake to Fakir's shoulder, trying to incite him to get up.

…

The trek back to the boy's dormitory was definitely…difficult. It took several minutes just to get the teen up and moving, and even then most of his weight had been shifted to rely on her own to keep him on his feet. He wasn't exactly suffocating, but it was still a challenge for Tutu.

He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness, mumbling underneath his breath every so often. The most she could ever pick out was telling her to leave him be, but she persisted in leading him back to the dorm and patching up his wounds.

All the while, she couldn't get her mind off of Mytho and Kraehe.

Once they reached the buildings, Tutu had to consider for a moment if she should change back to being a girl or not. Before, she was only the princess when she needed to gather a heart shard for Mytho, and right now there weren't any nearby—not to mention that her prince wasn't anywhere in sight, either. But as it was, her persona as Tutu was the one bestowed with grace, beauty, and strength. Staying like that would be better to guide a teen who was much heavier than her stature as a school girl.

Sneaking in, however, wasn't too terribly difficult. It was getting upstairs that was the hard part. Continuously, Tutu had to shake a shoulder or try to jolt Fakir from his unstable consciousness to get him to lift his own feet up, and it seemed as though he would pass out every few minutes all over again, leaving her to struggle underneath his own weight.

Tutu grit her teeth in an expression that was clearly un-princess-like, pushing both hands against his back and grunting. They only had a few more steps to go. Just a few more steps…!

…

She gave a heavy exhale, rubbing a hand along her strained shoulder. The image of Fakir tucked away in the bed greeted her, his wounds already making a mark on the pale white sheets.

It was tiring just to make it this far, but she still had work to do!

Only giving herself a few sparse minutes of break, Tutu immediately went over to the one place she could think of where bandages would be stored—the bathroom. It was easy enough to find them, at the very least, and it was becoming clearer that this part wouldn't be as straining as the previous task.

She crouched at the bedside, her eyes soft and filled with concern as she unraveled the cloth. It was only after she began to wrap the bandages around one of his wrists that she suddenly stilled. Blinking, she thought to herself, watching his brows crease and waver in his sleep.

…If this were happening a few days ago, she would have had to ask herself why she was going through so much trouble just to help him. She was convinced he was a terrible person, wasn't she? He didn't trust her, either. When she tried suggesting they work together since they both wanted to save Mytho, he had to be a jerk about it and refuse.

In the end, though…she _did_ manage to see a small bit of the real Fakir. In her eyes, that was enough for her to need to tend to his wounds. If she could see more of that…maybe they would be able to really partner up and save Mytho?

At any rate, she didn't know how she was going to find the prince again….

Wrapping the cloth around and around his slashes and cuts, Tutu furrowed her brows, determined. As soon as he was well rested, she will try one more time. Just one more time, she'll ask him to work together. It was the only thing she could think of doing, at this rate. Any other solution was lost on her.

Once she had finally finished patching him up, Tutu sat back on the other bed, closing her eyes and giving a quiet sigh. For now, there wasn't much else she could do, but wait.

…She was never fond of waiting.

Eyes despondent, the girl watched him as he merely breathed, his body perfectly still and unmoving save for the rise and fall of his chest.

Just one more time….


	6. Akt 12 part 2

**notes:** holy delayed chapter batman! sorry for taking so long to update. this is actually also an entry to Fakiru Week 2013, for the last entry "trust." takes place between the moment fakir throws ahiru's clothes at her face and when they're seen swimming through the currents.

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><p><strong>Akt 12 - 2<strong>

As soon as the bundle of clothes was out of his hand, Fakir spun around on his feet and darted over to the moss-covered wall, immediately slamming his forehead against the rock and pressing a fist over one of his temples.

The squawk of the redheaded girl as she fell back in the water with a splash went ignored, for the time being. He stood rigid in his spot, teeth gritting, and waited for her to get back in her damn clothes.

"Y-You didn't have to—_throw_ them all at once!" he heard her say, her voice giving away the fact that she was slightly shivering from the loss of a feathered coat.

Fakir shook his head, slamming his eyes shut. "Just shut up! Just—" He racked his brain for the right words, but it was still difficult to think straight after the revelation that had hit him in the last minute. "Just change already, damn it! Hurry up!"

"It's not like I'm just sitting here!" Ahiru shot back, giving a small grunt as she pulled on a wet sock. Putting on soaked clothing, when it was heavy and floppy and stuck to her skin, was much more challenging than she first thought.

Fakir, however, just didn't care. His mind was swimming and it was hard to get his thoughts straight after what had just happened. Even with his eyes stubbornly closed, he could still see her. Turning into what looked like a million speckles of light before emerging out from the heap of clothes as a _bird_. And he wasn't even getting started on the hectic events that happened _after_ that.

After a few minutes of awkward silence along with the quiet sound of wet clothes being pulled over skin, Ahiru turned to face Fakir, who was still standing facing the wall.

"Are you ready to hear me out now?"

"Are you _dressed_?"

"Yeah."

Swallowing, Fakir slowly turned around, the redness still blemishing across his face, though it had died down somewhat. Now there was time to cool his head, time to get back to the mission they were down here for.

"… So what is it?"

Ahiru shifted on her feet, still a little uncomfortable with the wet clothes. "Um—oh right! While I was down there, I could sense a different current of water that might lead us out of here if we go through that hole!"

"A different current?" He turned over to said opening and walked closer to it, reaching a hand out over the rocks and peering inside. He narrowed his eyes, leaning in closer. Could she really sense things like that, and could he trust her?

_Should_ he trust her?

Before he had any more time to dwell on it, Ahiru was standing next to him, holding out her hand.

"I could lead you down the current. Rue and Mytho may be at the end, so…"

Fakir remained silent as he glanced to her, this girl. No, this… she was really a _duck_. A duck did all of this. Got in his way, turned into Princess Tutu, restored Mytho's heart shards… A duck could really do all of that?

He had a lot of questions swimming through his mind, but right now they just didn't have the time. Saving Mytho took precedence over everything else.

His fingers twitched at his sides, before he reached up and allowed his hand to take hers.

"… All right. I'll trust you, then. Just once."

Ahiru's face melted into relief, and her fingers enclosed over his gloved hand tightly. "I promise I know what I'm doing, we'll definitely get out fine! I guess that's one good thing about being a… well, a…"

She wasn't quite ready to say it out loud, and both of their faces immediately blushed crimson at the memory of what just happened a few minutes before.

Stammering, Fakir tugged her hand, stepping into the gaped entrance. "L-Let's just get going already. We don't have time to lose."

"M-mm."


End file.
